New Delhi: The Tata Nano project shifted from Bengal to Gujarat in 2008 after then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi sent a one-word SMS "Welcome" to Ratan Tata. In 2006, the Left Front government led by then Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya acquired land for the Tata Group to set up a Nano car manufacturing unit in Singur, sparking fierce protests led by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.

A small message did wonders

PM Modi had sent this SMS to Ratan Tata when he was announcing in Kolkata to take the Nano project out of Bengal. While inaugurating the Tata Nano plant built with an investment of Rs 2,000 crore in Sanand in 2010, Modi had said that when Ratan Tata said in Kolkata that he is leaving Bengal, I sent him a small SMS. In this I wrote, 'Welcome' and now you can see what an SMS of one rupee can do.

The project should not go out of India

Tata had announced on October 3, 2008 that he would move the Nano project out of Bengal and said that the plant would be set up in Sanand, Gujarat within the next four days. PM Modi had then said that many countries were eager to provide all possible help for the Nano project, but Gujarat government officials ensured that the project did not move out of India.

Tata will stop production of Nano cars in 2018

When the first Nano car rolled out of the plant in Sanand in June 2010, Tata had praised the Modi-led Gujarat government for helping set up the unit. "Gujarat gave us everything we needed. PM Modi told us, this is not just Tata's project, it is our project," he had said. Tata stopped production of Nano cars in 2018.

Ratan Tata also used to discuss with the workers about the plans to take the company forward

The country's famous industrialist Ratan Tata used to discuss plans to take the company forward with the workers and tried to implement their suggestions. He always inspired the workers to do social service. Whenever he came to Jamshedpur, he would definitely meet them.

Dr. Tridivesh Mukherjee, who was the Deputy General Manager of Tata Steel, recalls an interesting incident related to Ratan Tata and says that the result of this was that Tata Steel works in 26 countries including India, Netherlands and United Kingdom and employs about 80,500 people.